 Hi, how's everybody doing today? I'm your host Rich here on behalf of Rich TV Live with our very special guest, the CEO of LexiGene Holdings, Jack Regan. How you doing today, Jack? I'm doing great. Thank you. Thank you for joining us. Very excited to speak to you. There's a lot of big news coming for LexiGene Holdings and we're very excited. And the big news that's coming is that you've developed a fully automated molecular diagnostic system for rapid pathogen detection and genetic testing. Can you tell us a little bit more about your company and your product? Yeah, sure. So we are a molecular diagnosis company. We're located just north of Boston, and we have developed a very, very easy to use system designed to be placed at the point of care. Right now, there's obviously a ton of focus on diagnostics. Not all diagnostics are created equal. And the goal of standard diagnostics is PCR. And what we have done is we've automated PCR or bringing that to the point of care. Traditionally, that PCR is actually done in a reference lab and takes days to get the results back. Our value prop is bringing that high quality reference lab test really to the point of care, provide a rapid answer to allow for more informative decision making. That's fantastic. Now, the MyQ lab system has a wide variety of industry applications. Can you tell us what your four target markets are and the opportunities they offer LexiGene? Yeah, sure. So LexiGene was founded pre-COVID. And so prior to COVID, you know, we were focused really on what we considered to be underserved markets. The veterinary diagnostics market and the food safety markets are two markets in desperate need of new testing technologies. And those markets are underserved. And so it was a great opportunity for us to get in and provide, you know, high quality tests with effectively no competition. Coronavirus came along and all of a sudden blew up the world, so to speak, and has been the focus of everybody today. And so with the emergence of the coronavirus, we've had to look at our offerings and say, listen, OK, that diagnostics to a primary market for us. We're moving coronavirus up to obviously top on the list. Other things for us now, again, food safety. We're still very, very interested in food safety. We're going to be supporting food safety through our open access application, and that is the fourth that you refer to. A lot of people have a tough time grasping what open access means. And so if you think about open access, you know, what is it? It's sort of the ability of the end user to, if you will, customize the instrument to have it automate the tests that they are interested in. So our device as core is a microfluidic machine. And this machine is, you know, programmed, if you will, to perform the PCR tests. Because we're microfluidic, we actually can automate somebody else's test. And that's very, very unique in the industry. And so there's a lot of need out there for routine PCR testing outside of human clinical diagnostics. You have pharmaceutical companies, you have biotech companies, you have academics, governments. The list goes on and on where people want to do high quality PCR testing. We enable that with our machine. And we're very excited to really be the first company to be offering an instrument that really empowers the end user to create a fully customized PCR test using their own chemistry, if they so choose. That said, obviously, LexaGene is developing and validating its own chemistry for more applied markets like coronavirus testing, you know, veterinary diagnostics, etc. Why is rapid pathogen testing and detection more important right now in 2021 than ever? So obviously testing is paramount. You've heard in the news how there's a huge lack of testing initially and then a wave of new tests came onto the market. And there's so many different tests to choose from. Importantly, not all tests are created equal. So just because you've received, say, a coronavirus test does not necessarily mean you should trust the data. You know, right now the FDA is getting more and more, I would say, vocal calling out tests, which are performing subpar. A lot of technologies or companies pushed their technology onto the market with, if you will, inflate claims about their sensitivity and specificity. And the FDA is now getting caught up saying, hey, listen, you know, we've actually done some work on our end and your instrument, your technology isn't as good as you claim. By beware, you have a higher false negative rate and a higher false positive rate than has been actually advertised. And so for testing, it's very, very important that you have faith in the data. There are too many tests being used today, which arguably are promoting the continued spread of this pandemic. And that needs to stop. We need to start using technology, which is really considered a gold standard to have that sensitivity, to have that specificity so that when somebody gets tested, you have confidence in the results. And right now with the antigen test and some of the ectothermal tests, and for that matter, even some of the PCR tests, they aren't quite meeting the bar. And the FDA is starting to become much more vocal about calling those technologies out so that the buyers are aware of the risks and can really focus on higher quality diagnostics. And that's exactly where LexiGene fits in. Now, LexiGene has had a very, very busy 2020 and things have been moving really fast for you guys. Can you talk about some of the milestones that you hit in 2020 now that we're in 2021? Yeah, so, you know, we are still a young company. We are a growing company. And, you know, when a company is young and growing, it goes through transitions. Prior to, I would argue, December of this past year, we were really strictly an R&D company. December, we hit a very, very major milestone, which was selling our first systems. We sold two systems in December. Granted, it's an indication of the fact that we are now going to be hitting these markets hard in 2021. And so I want to focus on that milestone because it's a critical milestone. There are so many companies out there which make inflated claims. And they never get their technology to the point where, one, they can manufacture it. Two, they can demonstrate need. And three, they can actually get buyers who have actually gone out, done their research, looked at the competition, and decided that your technology is the right solution for them. And it's been very, very gratifying for us. For instance, one of our press releases was when a contract drug manufacturer contacted us, asking if we could solve a problem for them. And their problem was this slow growing bacteria which ends up crashing out their bioreactors, costing them hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars, if that happens. And their current solution isn't good enough because it's too slow. And they wanted to turn to genetics to see if we could solve the problem. They came to our facility, checked us out, gave us samples, had us run those samples. And sure enough, our technology was a great solution for them. And they adopted it. It's a great example of how open access is so powerful because they came to us with the need to very quickly configure the instrument to meet their need. Likewise, on a bed diagnostics, one of our early beta testers has adopted our technology. And so the fact that we're now selling, it's a huge, huge milestone for the company because it checks a lot of the boxes as far as, OK, does the technology work? Can the company actually manufacture it? Can the company go through the transition of an R&D company to one that's supporting manufacturing, marketing and sales? And we've done that. Are we completely through that process? No, we're not. We're still a growing company. Importantly, in 2021, we're really going to be gaining a lot of momentum. Now, when you're building a new business and you're going from an R&D company to a company that's selling products, which you talked about, there's going to be some challenging and exciting moments along the way. Can you talk about some of the most challenging and exciting moments you've had as a company? So challenging and exciting or challenging or exciting? Let's do challenging and exciting. OK, well, first, let's focus on the challenging part. You know, the coronavirus has been extremely challenging for everybody, including companies. You know, you know, here we are, we're a small company. It's critical. Every team member is critical. And so we personally, I am concerned that we don't have an outbreak at the company. And so, you know, we've implemented safety measures here at the company for encouraging people who can work remotely to work remotely. But nonetheless, the whole coronavirus pandemic presents a challenge for all companies, including ours. And so that has been a challenge, not unique to us. But certainly the fact that sometimes you try to order a part, we're in luck to diagnostics. There's a tremendous demand for some types of components and where previously we get things like in a week. Now we have to wait weeks, if not months for something. So certainly supply chain has been very, very challenging for us. We're managing as best we can. Nonetheless, that's a constant challenge. And also, frankly, a worry. You know, here we are, fortunately, not kind of what we haven't had any outbreaks of the company. We test weekly. You know, we try to exercise good social distancing and safety measures. Nonetheless, moving forward, this pandemic is, you know, expanding. And certainly I hold my breath that we don't have an outbreak at the company. And fortunately, we haven't. And so that's on the challenging side. On the exciting side, you know, for me, it's been extremely gratifying, you know, having the company mature to the point that it's reached and getting that critical milestone of starting sales. It's not an achievement that should be glossed over. So many companies never make it to the point that we've made it to. And we're really just starting to roll. And so we're very excited about 2021, largely because we have plenty of cap of cash in the treasury. And, you know, we have a deep sales funnel and we're really looking forward to execute on those sales in 2021. What should investors keep an eye on for Lexi Jean in 2021? Obviously, the years just started. Everybody's excited. All companies have huge plans and goals that they want to roll out. What do we have in store for investors in 2021? So Lexi Jean just started its EUA study for coronavirus testing. And this is something that really the technology was built for. And if you go back and look at my background, I did my PhD in influenza research. And so if you will, I'm an expert in influenza biology. And all along, we're thinking, OK, avian influenza is going to be the next pandemic. And, you know, that was most virologist's concern. And here we are. And, you know, obviously, the coronavirus really started at very, very late, you know, 2019, but then really hit us in 2020. So what can you expect of Lexi Jean in 2021? And so I've really transformed this company and pushed the team to go towards human clinical diagnostics earlier than we were expecting. I mean, it was a market that was obviously top in our mind, but nonetheless, for a young company to be pursuing an FDA so early is a little bit unique. But we do have a unique opportunity to get our technology into the field where it really is designed to shine. And I want to highlight one of the sanitary features of our technology, which isn't available with any of that technology. Our technology, I mentioned earlier in the interview, is open access. Why is this so important? If you look at what's happening today, new variants of this virus are being detected. You've heard about the UK strain, which, you know, 70% more contagious. We often now have this South African strain, which experts are now very, very worried, might be a strain that could effectively evade the vaccine in some sense that it's not a good match to the vaccine. So what happens if all of a sudden this variant starts circulating, we don't get great containment? And next thing you know, it's spreading and even people who have either previously been sick by coronavirus or vaccinated are not immune to that new strain and now they're getting re-infected. And we basically don't get out of the cycle of this coronavirus pandemic, which would be horrible. And so how does lexagene fit in as a solution? And so, and why is open access point of care PCR technology so important? It's important because our technology is going to be the fastest technology to implement new tests at the point of care. And that's critical for helping contain new variants before they spin out of control. The thing about a pandemic is you never want to get to a pandemic. You want to stop it at the still a small outbreak. And really the only way to do that is have technology like lexagene's my key lab operating at the point of care where it can very quickly be configured to detect new variants to help really contain the virus. Now, we're going to have investors from all over the world watching this video. We've already had some really good response from investors that think that your company is going to explode with FDA approval, that there's huge upside. Some people are saying crazy upside potential, which is really exciting. How can an investor get in contact directly with you, Jack, the CEO of lexagene holdings if they're interested in investing or learning more about the company? Yeah, I really pride myself in being accessible when possible. I try to directly respond to inquiries. We have a web, excuse me, an email address. It's IR at lexagene.com. I do get all those emails. Now, obviously I have a team that helped me respond to some of them. But certainly if you have any questions at all, reach out to us, either myself or my team or respond and we'll try to address your questions as best we can. And certainly we're very excited about 2021. You know, it's going to be a what we believe to be a great year for the company. Well, thank you so much for your time today, Jack Regan, the CEO of lexagene holdings, a company that I find to be very undervalued, underappreciated, underexposed and potentially with FDA approval around the corner could be a huge catalyst for the company. So thank you for your time today, Jack. I wish you all the best of luck in 2021 and beyond. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Have a nice day, everybody, and thank you for watching.